Khalilah Majied, president of the Flint Alumni Chapter of
Delta Sigma Theta, president of the Flint Chapter, said they came up with the
idea for the event five years ago as part of its "auspices of social action"
program, making it a "one-stop shop" of information.

Wanda Harden, public relations coordinator for the library
and a member of Delta Sigma Theta, pitched the idea to the library.

"Five years ago, our economy was so bad. People were looking
for food, clothing and shelter," Warden said. "We said, we need a basic needs
fair, where people can come and just find the information, go through and talk
to people, get cards, and they can decide which services they need to access. Even
if you don't need it, someone in your family may need it."

The library was a natural fit, Harden said, because the
group already meets there, and because the community already looks to the
building as a hub for information.

Since then, Majied said, attendance has increased from about
50 people to between 150 people and 200.

Majied said that on Saturday, attendees had asked for help
with enrolling in health insurance, caring for elderly parents, hopeful foster parents

"We have a lot of different vendors here who can assist
people so they don't have to get on the phone and call them individually," she
said. "They can come right here and see everybody they need to see."